Making a magazine for an iconic album release

For the release of his highly anticipated album 'Blonde', Grammy-award winning musician Frank Ocean wanted to create a physical magazine, 'Boys Don't Cry', to accompany the music. The project required rigorous editorial direction, physical production management, and the coordination of multiple high-profile stakeholders to ensure it matched the cultural weight of the album.

Brought in to help edit the magazine, the process involved commissioning world-class contributors and refining the features to match Ocean's artistic vision. We managed the physical production of the publication while working closely with management teams at Three Six Zero and Roc Nation.

A key element of the strategy was maintaining absolute secrecy and ensuring the complex logistical production stayed on budget, preparing the publication for a highly orchestrated global release.

'Boys Don't Cry' was successfully published in August 2016 via a series of surprise global drops. The publication became an instant collector's item and a defining piece of music history, directly helping the 'Blonde' album achieve first-week sales of 275,000 units.